Aviators who became ace in a day

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The term "ace in a day" is used to designate a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.^[1]

World War I

The first aviators to achieve this were pilot Julius Arigi and observer/gunner Johann Lasi of the Austro-Hungarian air force, on 22 August 1916, when they downed five Italian planes.^[2]

World War I flying ace Fritz Otto Bernert scored five victories within 20 minutes on April 24, 1917, even though he wore glasses and was effectively one-armed.^[3]

John Lightfoot Trollope of the Royal Air Force shot down and destroyed seven German planes on 24 March 1918.^[4]

Henry Woollett shot down and destroyed six German airplanes on 12 April 1918, setting two afire.^[5]

René Fonck scored six in a day on two occasions, 9 May and 26 September 1918.^[6]

World War II

Triple-Ace in a Day

To achieve this a pilot must have destroyed 15 enemy aircraft in a single day. This was achieved by only 4 luftwaffe pilots^[7]

• The highest number of aerial victories in history for a single day was claimed by Emil Lang when he shot down 18 Soviet fighters on 3 November 1943.^[8]

• The most notable triple-ace in a day is Hans-Joachim Marseille of Germany, who was credited with downing 17 Allied fighters in just three sorties over North Africa on 1 September 1942.^[9]

• August Lambert shot down 17 Soviet aircraft on a single day in 1944.

• Huburt Strassl shot down 15 Soviet aircraft on 5 July 1943 near Orel

Double-Ace in a Day

To achieve this a pilot must have destroyed 10 enemy aircraft in a single day.

• Erich Rudorffer is credited with the destruction of the most aircraft ever in a single mission when he shot down 13 soviet aircraft on 11 October 1943.^[10] Numerous other Luftwaffe pilots also claimed the title during World War II.^{[citation needed]}

Ace in a day

On 15 June 1940 the French pilot Pierre Le Gloan destroyed 5 Italian aircraft in one flight.^[11]

Hans Wind of HLeLv 24, Finnish Air Force, scored five kills in a day five separate times during the Soviet Summer Offensive 1944, a total of 30 kills in 12 days, of his final tally of 75.^[12]

Australian Clive Caldwell destroyed five German aircraft in the space of a few minutes in World War II.

On December 5, 1941, the leading Australian ace of World War II, Clive Caldwell, destroyed five German aircraft in the space of 18 seconds, also in North Africa. He received a Distinguished Flying Cross for the feat.^[13]

During World War II, 68 U.S. pilots—43 Army Air Forces, 18 Navy, and seven Marine Corps—were credited with the feat, including David McCampbell, who claimed seven Japanese planes shot down on June 19, 1944 (during the "Marianas Turkey Shoot"), and nine in a single mission on October 24, 1944.^{[citation needed]} Medal of Honor recipients Jefferson DeBlanc and James E. Swett became aces on their first combat missions in Guadalcanal, scoring five kills and seven kills respectively.^{[citation needed]} US Navy pilot Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa, who during the Battle of the Coral Sea shot down three Mitsubishi A6M Zeros with a Douglas SBD Dauntless, managed to down seven Japanese planes in one sortie in the Battle of Santa Cruz flying a Grumman F4F Wildcat.^{[citation needed]}

The world's top Mustang ace, George Preddy, shot down six Bf-109s on August 6, 1944, setting the European Theater of Operations record for the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Post World War II

In air to air combat during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Muhammad Mahmood Alam of the Pakistan Air Force shot down five Indian Air Force Hawker Hunter Mk.56 fighters in less than a minute, four being in first 30 seconds. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Jurat ("The star of courage") and bar for his actions.^[14][15][16]

References

• Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914-1918. Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0-948817-73-9, ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.
• Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0-948817-19-4, ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.
• Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1914 - 1918. Martin O'Connor. Flying Machines Press, 1994. ISBN 0-9637110-1-6, ISBN 978-0-9637110-1-4.
• Battle for Pakistan: The Air War of 1965. John Fricker. I Allan, 1979. ISBN 0-7110-0929-5, ISBN 978-0-7110-0929-5.
• French Aces of World War 2: Volume 28 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces. Barry Ketley. Osprey Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-85532-898-4, ISBN 978-1-85532-898-3.
• Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918. Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. ISBN 0-948817-54-2, ISBN 978-0-948817-54-0.

Endnotes